The menace of illegal factories in Delhi

With over a lakh illegal factory units running without checks, flouting safety norms in Delhi, the massive fire at a rubber godown in Malviya Nagar’s Khirki Extension on Tuesday night is the seventh such incident since the beginning of the year. While unlike the past six incidents where workers were killed in the fire, there were no casualties this time. However, since the unit was located in a residential area, people living nearby had to vacate their houses as flames could not be doused until Wednesday morning. The civic body plans to conduct a special drive in all residential areas to check such “misuse” of premises.